Thotahewage Sukitha Lakmal dec Silva v. Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC/APN/52/2015-2016

In the case between Thotahewage Sukitha Lakmal dec Silva and the Hon. Attorney General (Sri Lanka), the court addressed the issue of whether custodial sentences mandated by statute for statutory rape and abduction should be revised in light of the specific circumstances of the case and relevant Supreme Court precedents on judicial discretion. The holding established that, despite statutory provisions prescribing mandatory minimum sentences for such offences, courts retain judicial discretion to suspend sentences or depart from the minimum where compelling circumstances exist, as reaffirmed in SC Reference No. 03/2008 and Attorney General v. Ambagala Mudiyanselage Samantha. The decision emphasized that, when parties have since married and lead a stable family life, mandatory custodial sente